My fuse box relocation (project log)

[turbosax2]

i see grime on the VC!

Don't worry, I've got a powdercoated one

This thread is EPIC. Amazing! Subscribing!

What kind of wiring will you have to do for the saturn alternator?

Thanks! I haven't decided for sure but I plan on running a 1/0 gauge wire from the alternator to a 200A circuit breaker to my kill switch. And the plug to the alternator uses a switched 12V and one of the 4 stock wires. The other 3 were removed from the harness already.

 

[EDM95]

By the looks of it this is going to be a nice and clean set up man.

 

[projecTSI]

Wow. I haven't checked this thread in a while, but man am I glad I did. VERY nice job, keep it up.

 

[EDM95]

too bad I can't relocate my coil pack.

 

[mattsGSTeclipse]

What's the advantage of the shifter cable bushings? Also is there a reason why your upgrading the wire for your alternator? The stock wires won't cut it?

 

[kawboy]

Shifter cable bushings firm up the shift feel, make the gears feel more direct and easier to locate, for some.

He's redoing the wiring because he's using a Saturn alternator, which is wired differently then our stock alternators.

 

[turbosax2]

^ Correct. Just like a Symborski shift kit or underhood cable bushings, these are trying to improve shifter feel. My stock ones weren't real bad but it's a nice upgrade. On my friends trans I can move his bracket probably 1/4" each way by hand!

I'm upgrading the wiring for a couple reasons. The new alternator is higher amperage than the stock one, so I should have larger gauge wire for that reason alone. Plus I have to run the wire the whole length of the car back to my kill switch. So no, the stock wires wouldn't cut it.

 

[blcknspo0ln]

Great job, Eric. I'm going to do the saturn swap in a bit (still with electrical woes). So let me know the details when you are done!

 

[Dsmj89]

Great job saxman ! Yet another geat update ! Keep 'em coming.

 

[turbosax2]

Installed the heat shields with SS ARP bolts.

My friends air compressor still isn't fixed so I still can't powdercoat. I put the cam gears, old timing belt, and old tensioner on just so I can rotate the motor by hand weekly.

I modified my coil pack bracket so I can clip the connector on. This also shows where I mounted the capacitor.

Shows all the connectors on the back of the engine and how I mounted the CPS connector. The knock sensor wire was zip-tied for now to make it shorter.

Safety wired the oil filter.

Dropped the engine in. I'll have to pull the engine again later so I left the clutch and flywheel off so I can put the engine back on the stand.

I've been working on the ecu harness but no pictures yet. I have most of the engine bay side of the harness done. I need to buy a crimper and connectors before I can go further.

 

[Dsmj89]

Looking good sax. Keep it up.

 

[EDM95]

Looks good man.

 

[mattsGSTeclipse]

How did you remove the alternator pulley?

 

[snowborder714]

We used an impact gun.

 

[94TalonTSI1]

That's it? That's all we get? It's been a month!! Where's the update.

Looks great!

 

[AWDnoobie]

Great write up on the fuse box relocation, even tho there seems to be more of a total resto on the car keep up the good work

 

[TFFC]

Where do you get the time and money from?

 

[turbosax2]

I'm a college student so I only get to work on the car on the weekends, and I only work during the summer so...I'm short on both time and money (hence the slow progress).

Nothing to update, been busy working on my brothers cars lately.

 

[UnsafeAtAnySpd]

I just read through this whole thread. That alone took forever, so I can only imagine actually doing it. Anyway, nothing constructive to add, but wanted to say that this whole project is badass. Keep it up!

 

[awdcsm]

man you are doing a really good detailed job. you seem like a neat freak like myself, iam performing an extreme wire tuck and shaving myself. keep it moving bro!

 

[turbosax2]

Ok, it's been way too long since the last update but I started working on the car again recently.

Awhile ago I polished my Greddy intercooler pipes (got them used from a friend). Here is a before and after type shot.

And I modified a 1g bov to fit the Greddy flange. See here for more info. Blasted and powdercoated it midnight black chrome.

My ECU harness is now 95% done, the other 5% will be done at the same time as the fuse box harness. The connectors I'm using are Deutsch connectors from laddinc.com. I use a special crimper to crimp all the terminals. Any empty spots in the connectors are filled with plugs to environmentally seal the connectors. Every position in the connectors is numbered so I made a chart of which wire goes where, making maintenance easy in the future. I think there were only 2 wires that needed lengthened, the rest were shortened by at least 2 feet, sometimes up to 4 feet. By using the connector I was able to keep soldering to a bare minimum, mostly just on the power and ground wires (grounds were all moved inside cabin). The injector clips all go into one big connector so I can remove the harness without unplugging the individual clips. The injector connector mounts to the bottom of the intake manifold with a bracket from laddinc. If anybody is really interested in the connectors I can give more info on them, but they are really nice. I threw in a picture of my alternator plug from Ballenger Motorsports, great prices and service there and the crimper I got from there is really nice. Also in the pictures is where I mounted the power transistor and injector box, underneath the relays near the ecu. I liked this spot because it kept all the electronics in the same general area. I'll post pictures of the harness installed next time I put it in.

A lot of hours went into that harness and each wire was placed precisely. I went through and checked every wire in the harness to verify it went to the right place; it was a good feeling when they all were right I'm now working on the fuse box harness. First I need to mount the fuse box. I found a good place for it so I'll show that once I make mounting brackets for it. Then on to redoing the wiring on the harness.

Oh, and I picked up a used copy of v2 dsmlink for a good price too so I'm set there.

I really want to bring my car to the 2nd Annual Northeast DSM Meet on August 8th so that's my goal. After I finish the fuse box harness (hopefully this week), I want to pull the engine out on Sunday. Then I'm (hopefully) going to paint the engine bay to make it look nice again and paint all the front suspension stuff, powdercoat a few more random pieces, relocate the battery, and put it all back together.

 

[housegsx]

About time! Looking real good!

 

[bane3d]

Do you realize that if you documented each length of wire and you were able to duplicate the thing, you could sell those for $500 a pop with directions on how to rewire to the back. The option to completely rip out your wire without regard and buy something like that to install would well be worth the $500 IMO.

d

 

[turbosax2]

Few more things I forgot. I went hunting through CAPS and found that Mitsu makes rubber plugs in all different sizes. So I found the proper sized plugs to plug up holes that I had (heater core lines, big a/c hole, little a/c hole, windwhield wiper motor plug, windshield wiper fluid line to engine bay hole, rear o2 sensor, and antenna drain). I also found they make a plug for the windshield wiper fluid filler neck. So instead of the ghetto mod I did in post 126, I installed this factory plug and eliminated the filler neck altogether. I also found plugs for the antenna, rear wiper, and rear wiper fluid squirter, but I decided to keep them as is for a more stock look.

 

[turbosax2]

About time! Looking real good!

Thanks!

Do you realize that if you documented each length of wire and you were able to duplicate the thing, you could sell those for $500 a pop with directions on how to rewire to the back. The option to completely rip out your wire without regard and buy something like that to install would well be worth the $500 IMO.

d

All the lengths are documented. I've thought about that before, but it would be a huge headache. First I would have to source oem plugs, which I don't know where to find, plus everybody's setup is different. I couldn't possibly account for every combination of parts and locations of parts to make harnesses like that. I think I've given a decent amount of info in this thread for anyone who wants to attempt it themselves though, although it is a daunting task.